Luna's First Day
by tigerfriend1999
Summary: Princess Luna has finally returned to Equestria after one-thousand years of imprisonment in the moon. Although Celestia has forgiven her, Luna struggles to gain the trust of her kingdom once again. The story of her first day as a princess again. Dedicated to my new BFF Pegasister,TiggertheTiger. :)
1. Out of the Darness

**Chapter One: Out of the Darkness**

Luna cuddled up in the dark recesses of her old room, listening to the unfamiliar sounds of celebration continuing into the night. She squeezed her eyes shut, basking in the comfort of darkness, folding back her ears to block out the noise. Silence again. If she concentrated very hard...it almost felt like she was back in the moon...her body no longer under her control...Luna jerked her head up, her eyes wide open, her ears pricked forward, tears flowing down her cheeks. She didn't ever want to go back...never...She didn't want to be alone again...

Luna shakily got to her hooves, still unused to controlling her own body. She quietly opened the door to her room and peered down the hallway. The night sky was pure black, and with a pang of guilt, she remembered how she'd promised her sister that she would raise the moon and stars tonight. But the sun had long since gone down, and the dark sky was graced by neither moon nor stars. It was an icy cold black...no light...no beauty...

The filly crept down the hall, trying to avoid the suspicious gazes from the strange royal guards. The room at the end of the corridor was marked by a golden-hinged door emblazoned with an image of the sun. Her sister's room.

"Do you want something, Princess?" a harsh voice interrupted her sad thoughts, and she turned, startled, to stare into the cold eyes of a palace guard.

"I...no...I just...I want to see my sister..." Luna blurted out, her voice barely more than a soft whisper. The guard's eyes narrowed as he glared at her.

"Celestia has been asleep for several hours, now. She does not need to be bothered at the moment. I suggest you return to your chambers now, Princess Luna." His voice was as icy as his glare, and Luna felt in her gut that, though Celestia had forgiven her for her weakness, many of the Equestrians had not.

"B-but you don't understand!" she whimpered. "I don't want to be alone! I've been by myself for a thousand years! I want my sister!" Luna felt like she couldn't put all of her feelings into words. The guard opened his mouth to say something harsh again.

He was interrupted by the sound of the door behind him opening, and a gentle but firm voice said, "Is there a problem?" Luna rushed past the guard and hid under her sister's wing, crying softly. Startled, Celestia turned a worried gaze towards the dark filly, nuzzling her face and trying to rub away the tears in an attempt to get Luna to tell her what was wrong. She only sobbed louder. The guard reached a hoof out to pull Luna away, but Celestia pushed it back.

"No...It's alright, I will look after her."

"But...Your Highness-" the guard argued.

"I will look after her," Celestia repeated firmly. She backed into her room, keeping Luna sheltered in her soft wing, closing the door on the guard without another word. She gently lifted the shaking filly onto her bed with her magic, leaning down to peer into her watery eyes. "Luna, it's okay," she whispered. "Luna, look at me!" Her voice was almost desperate. After a thousand years, she didn't want her sister to slip away from her again. Luna snuffled and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof.

"I'm f-fine..." she sniffed.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be crying," Celestia said gently, hoping to bring a smile to Luna's face. "Now please tell me what's wrong this time. The last time you held secrets from me, we were seperated for a thousand years." Luna's small body rocked with the biggest sob yet, and Celestia immediately knew she shouldn't have brought up her sister's banishment.

"I'm sorry..." she said softly, cuddling down on the bed by her sister and folding a wing around her. Luna snuggled closer into her embrace, grateful for the safe, warm, white feathers that covered her. "I don't want to be alone either..." Luna wondered how her sister had guessed what was wrong so fast. Both ponies were silent for a minute.

"My bed is big enough...we can both just stay in here tonight. Maybe tomorrow we could...send for a queen sized bunk bed?" Celestia sounded uncertain, but Luna giggled quietly and nodded into her sister's soft hair. It had been a long time since she and Celestia had shared a room...

Luna snuggled deeper under the covers and folded up her small wings. Celestia collapsed with a sleepy sigh on the other side of the bed, letting her shimmering mane flow over the pillows as she rubbed a comforting hoof up and down Luna's back. The blue-maned filly's back soon lapsed into the gentle motion of her deep breathing as sleep overtook her. Celestia spread an extra quilt over her sister, smiling as she murmured something in her sleep. Cuddling down under the covers, she basked in the warmth of Luna's body next to hers. She felt a lump push up in her throat. She hadn't realized how much she had hated being alone all those years until she had realized how much she loved Luna. With another sleepy sigh, Celestia closed her eyes, her heart periodically giving thanks for the delicate pony sleeping next to her...

**A/N: Yeah, this is a short chapter. Next one will (hopefully) be a wee bit longer. Stay tuned! -"Niki Bogwater"**


	2. Breakfast

_**Chapter Two: Breakfast**_

"RISE AND SHINE, LUNA!" Celestia giggled as she threw a pillow at her sister's face. Luna groaned and put a hoof over her ear. "Come on, up and at 'em!" she chirped, pulling the blankets back. Luna cringed as a rush of cold air enveloped her body. "I already raised the sun and everything! I let you sleep late!" Luna groaned again. Celestia smiled mischievously and pulled a loose feather from her wing. "I didn't want to have to do this, Little Sis, but you leave me no choice..." She tickled Luna's nose with the feather, trying to make her own hysterical giggling sound more like maniacal laughter as Luna yelped and dove out of the bed.

"Wha...okay okay, I'm up..." Luna grumbled sleepily. Although she did her best to appear annoyed with her sister, Luna couldn't help feeling grateful for the morning. She'd missed her sister's teasing and early mornings. Celestia picked up the blanket and waited for Luna to finish yawning. Then they both pulled the sheets smooth and arranged the pillows to their liking. Then Celestia snatched her bathrobe and slippers from the nightstand, threw a towel at Luna, and headed for the bathroom.

Luna settled into the warm water, ready to fall asleep again...well, until Celestia splashed her awake. She yawned as one of the innumerable maids massaged her scalp with some sort of expensive shampoo. Celestia was busy trying to unclog a bottle of bubble bath and pull her mane up into a shower cap at the same time.

"Oh, confound this blasted...Ackpth!" Celestia yelped as the stubborn lid suddenly popped off and soap was sent flying all over the bathroom. Luna mischievously smiled and made a mental note to remind herself to buy a camera for the next time they took a morning bath. Celestia may have had the never-aging body of an Alicorn and the mind of Starswirl the Bearded, but she was still a pony like everybody else, even if she'd rather keep that a secret.

Celestia and Luna clambered out of the huge bathtub (it was a bit more of a hot swimming pool) and helped each other dry their wings. Luna was forced to sit as still as a rock for about forty-five minutes while her sister switched undecidedly from one mane-style to another.

"Why don't you just leave it loose?" Luna asked boredly, already aware of the answer.

"Because it's your first day in the Royal Court. You want to be presentable, right?"

"I thought you once told me I was beautiful no matter what..."

"I was speaking metaphorically, Dear Sister..." Celestia patted her head fondly after shoving in a few bobby-pins.

"In other words, you weren't talking about my hair when you said that..."

"Precisely."

An hour and a half later (it took Celestia forever to decide which pair of shoes to make Luna wear) they both emerged from the Royal Chambers. By this time, Luna was ready to go back to bed, but Celestia steered her to the Dining Hall. She settled uncomfortably into a plush chair (the dress she was wearing was a little too tight for her tastes) and eyed the tray in front of her.

"What is that?" she asked hesitantly, unsure if she actually wanted an answer.

"That?" Celestia gave her an odd look. "Well, it's um...uhhhh..."

"You don't know, do you?" Luna sighed, poking the gelatinous blob with a spoon.

"No, but it's delicious."

"Uh, excuse me, Chef?" Luna called to one of the more official-looking maids.

"Yes, Princess?"

"I was inquiring about this morning's meal." Luna watched the blob disintegrate as one of the servants drowned it with milk.

"Oh, that is a pudding of rice, cinnamon, sugar, and-"

"Can I just have a name?" Luna interrupted apologetically. She could barely tell salt from sugar around the kitchen, and had never enjoyed cooking very much.

"Rice pudding," the chef answered.

"Oh, that makes sense!" Celestia piped up. Everypony turned to stare at her. She blushed and went back to quietly shoveling dainty bites into her mouth.

"Um...thank you," Luna said to the chef, diverting everypony's attention from her embarrassed sister. The chef answered with a courteous bow and returned to the kitchen, followed closely by several maids. Luna stared at Celestia. "You never asked what they were giving you? Honestly, dear sister, you'll never learn anything if you don't ask! Besides, for all you know, this stuff could've been poisoned!"

"Not likely, I've been eating it for the past five years. And besides, if I had asked, I don't think they would have told me if it was poisoned. If you're trying to kill somepony, you generally don't want them to know. Now relax and learn to trust ponies, Luna."

_Easy for you to say_, Luna thought, cautiously taking a bite of the pudding, which she promptly began to wolf down eagerly in unladylike spoonfuls. _You're not the one who was sent to the moon for a thousand years by her own family..._ Luna sighed a little, wishing she could forget it and move on like her sister had. She glanced sideways at Celestia, who was making subtle gestures at her to slow down and take smaller bites. She smiled and obeyed. It didn't matter anyways. She was home now, and she and Celestia would never have to be apart like that again.


End file.
